Swimming in Data

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the Olympic Final,” thunders from the loudspeakers, yet it is barely audible over the deafening roar of a crowd ten thousand strong. One long blast of the referee’s whistle summons eight of the world’s fastest swimmers to the starting blocks. The air is thick with anticipation as the noise of the crowd gradually fades and tunnel vision sets in. To compete in the Olympics is to have arrived at the pinnacle of one’s sport. It is the realization of a dream shared by the youngest summer league swimmer and the most outstanding professional. It is the realization of years of sacrifice—grueling workouts, lost sleep, missing out on adolescent rites of passage. And now, in front of millions of fans, the chance to bring home a medal, to stand on the podium draped in the national flag, to feel that all of the hard work and sacrifice was worth it. The chance to make history is at hand.